Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Virtu Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIRT) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $38.67 and last traded at $38.62, with a volume of 499708 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.41.

Analyst Ratings Changes

VIRT has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Virtu Financial from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Citigroup increased their target price on Virtu Financial from $32.00 to $37.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $37.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Virtu Financial from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.21.

Virtu Financial Stock Up 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $36.39 and its 200 day moving average is $32.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a current ratio of 0.47.

Virtu Financial (NASDAQ:VIRT) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $388.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $379.18 million. Virtu Financial had a net margin of 7.29% and a return on equity of 23.22%. Virtu Financial’s revenue for the quarter was up 30.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Virtu Financial, Inc. will post 2.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Virtu Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, December 1st were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.49%. Virtu Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.24%.

Institutional Trading of Virtu Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in Virtu Financial by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 19,421 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $436,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Virtu Financial by 125.4% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 38,554 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $866,000 after purchasing an additional 21,450 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Virtu Financial during the second quarter valued at about $381,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Virtu Financial by 53.7% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 192,012 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,311,000 after acquiring an additional 67,080 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Virtu Financial by 90.9% in the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 319,101 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,164,000 after purchasing an additional 151,921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.78% of the company’s stock.

About Virtu Financial

Virtu Financial, Inc operates as a financial services company in the United States, Asia Pacific, Canada, EMEA, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Market Making and Execution Services. Its product includes offerings in execution, liquidity sourcing, analytics and broker-neutral, capital markets, and multi-dealer platforms in workflow technology.